They Shoot Wild Horses Don't They?
by brown phantom
Summary: Ranma gets attacked in an unexpected way and suffers greatly for it. Some don't seem too concerned about it, but those that stick with him will help him find out who hurt him.
1. Chapter 1

In a hospital in Nerima there was a young boy in the critical care unit. His injuries apparently weren't too life-threatening but they were severe indeed. Everyone wondered just how he could get them considering most people if not all in the district knew who he was. And he wasn't the type of person to get hurt in this way. The medics had already informed his family and heard they were on their way. Everyone wanted to get to the bottom of this.

Several hours earlier

"RANMA NO BAKA!" One short-haired tomboy screamed at a pig-tailed martial artist before she whipped out a mallet and sent him flying into the air, destination unknown but most likely water.

The targeted boy was none other than Ranma Saotome, both famous and infamous in Japan and China for his many skills and faults. And as usual, it had been his first of three fiancees, one Akane Tendo, who had sent him soaring, for reasons he didn't understand.

"What's her problem? I just said that next time she tries to cook she should actually look at what she's usin' before she uses it instead of just mixing random things together to create slop." Ranma mouthed off to himself. "Why does she hafta hit me for tellin' the truth?"

Soon enough, Ranma landed, and sure enough again, it was in water. The canal closest to his home to be precise. Climbing out in his cursed form, Ranma wringed her clothes as free of water as she could without taking it off. Still not dry, and still upset at Akane for acting unnecessarily violent, she decided to not head to the Tendo household right away. Not sure where else to go, the best idea seemed to be Tofu's clinic for hot water and maybe some comforting words. The doc was one of the few people Ranma knew that didn't immediately disregard his say on something.

Sadly, Ranma was unaware that he was being shadowed, by someone lurking in the shadows. Someone with a grudge. 'Damn you Ranma. I've never been able to defeat you before, and maybe I never will. But I've got something you're not prepared before.' The figure held in a chuckle, to avoid giving away their presence.

Ranma made it to the clinic and was glad to see the good doctor was on a break at the moment. "Ah Ranma. How are you? Like some hot water?" Tofu politely greeted.

"Sure Doc. That'd be great. I'm doing about as usual for me."

Tofu turned on the sink and waited for the water to warm up properly. "That bad huh?"

Ranma nodded. "Doc, you know I trust you more than most. What do you think about my situation?"

Tofu got the requested water in a glass and looked over at the boy-turned-girl. Ranma didn't usually ask for help or advice, either too stubborn or confident to do so. So for him to do so was a sign of desperation or maybe humility. He handed the water over before saying anything. "Well Ranma, I'm honored you value my opinion. All I can say is that you're in quite a mess that's not really your doing but everyone seems to act like it is and it's all on your shoulders to do something about it. Sorry to state the obvious." Tofu paused as Ranma turned back into a guy. "One thing that bothers me is not only how to settle this, but what'll happen once you actually seriously attempt too."

Ranma looked surprised. "Whaddya mean Doc? I _am_ trying to settle this crap."

Tofu took a seat and Ranma did the same. Neither noticed that something was going on outside from a safe distance. "Ranma, what I mean is when you decide what is done about your many fiancees. Everybody is saying you have to pick one out of three. One problem is that all three have viable claims to the betrothal and all three act in ways to make the pact not worth honoring, to a point. Akane hits you at a moment's notice, Shampoo drugs you left and right, and Ukyo doesn't take you into consideration, just acts and assumes. At least, that's what I see."

"But the biggest problem is that everyone involved is missing the big picture." Tofu continued. "Everyone, even you maybe, seems to think that all you have to do is pick a girl and marry her and that'll settle absolutely everything. That's fairy-tale nonsense. Does it make sense that once you pick a girl to marry that the others will just surrender peacefully and leave you alone?" Ranma shook his head, the failed wedding coming to mind. "Of course it doesn't. And think of the consequences of any choice."

"If Akane isn't the one, then the Tendo's would have the right to declare a feud with your family because of all they've done for you and your father in the past two years. Same goes for the Kuonji's since your father abandoned Ukyo on the road. And if Shampoo isn't the one, then who knows just what's justifiable under Amazon law that Japanese law can't protect you against?"

"So basically I'm screwed no matter what. Is that what yer trying to say?" Ranma replied. Suddenly his danger sense started to go off, but he couldn't find anything threatening.

"Maybe. But think about this Ranma. So far you've been trying to find a way to please everyone at once. Maybe instead you should focus on who's worth pleasing. Whose happiness is more important to you? For that matter, which girl can you actually see yourself having a happily married life and a family with? A marriage needs love and trust to work, not obligati..."

Before Tofu could finish that sentence, the window next to them exploded loudly and Ranma was sent to the ground. He screamed and Tofu could see some blood. Ranma even started coughing up blood as he twitched and screamed. Tofu's eyes widened as he realized what had just happened.

Ranma had just been shot.

Thinking quickly, Tofu grabbed his phone and dialed for an ambulance at Nerima's general hospital, where he had good connections for in case his clients had something too severe for him to treat. "Hello. This is Tofu Ono at the Ono clinic. I need an ambulance here right away. Somebody has just..." Tofu went silent as he felt a sudden burst of pain in his back. He felt where he hurt, and found blood. He had been shot too. "A YOUNG MAN AND MYSELF WERE JUST SHOT! WE NEED PROFESSIONAL HELP RIGHT AWAY!" Tofu heard the person on the other end confirm they would send help immediately and try to wait and help themselves if they could. Tofu had them confirm the address of the clinic and then hung up. Thinking quickly, he rushed to get bandages and gauze and stayed away from the shattered window before he passed out from blood loss. Ranma seemed to will himself to pass out to avoid the pain.

The sniper was long gone before the medics arrived.

Present time

Ranma was still out, and Tofu was being examined in a separate room. The pig-tailed gender bender hadn't regained consciousness yet, much to the worry of the medics examining him. They didn't like how there were no witnesses to the attack and the damage done by it. They were not looking forward to the family's reactions when they heard the bad news. But they hoped that whoever did this was caught and punished severely, by both vigilante and judicial means. Some doctors in the hospital knew Ranma and owed him for helping them. So they wanted to see whoever did this to him suffer.

The door to the room opened, and first Akane and Nodoka entered, folowed by the rest of the Tendo household occupants. Ranma's fiancee and mother immediately tried to approach him, but were stopped by the doctors overlooking him.

"Out of my way! I want to see my son!" Nodoka demanded. She would have pulled out her katana had the security not confiscated it to let her enter the building. Last thing they needed was a frantic woman making more injuries.

"Now is not a good time for him to have visitors. If you'll wait out in the hallway I'll tell you his condition in a moment." One doctor told them all. They all reluctantly obeyed. The doctor confirmed with the others on the young boy's condition, and went out to be the bearer of bad news. "Now, can I assume that you're his family?"

Nodoka and Genma stood up. "Yes. We're his parents." Nodoka then motioned to Akane. "And this young girl is his fiancee." For once she didn't argue the point. "Doctor, what happened to my son?"

The doctor sighed sadly. "I'm afraid your son... was shot." They were all speechless. "Yes, you heard right. Somebody actually shot him. We have no idea who or why. They also shot Mr. Ono. Both are in critical condition."

Nodoka collapsed to her knees shedding tears. Akane just sat down with a blank wide-eyed look on her face. Genma and Soun shared a look and Nabiki kept her Ice Queen mask on to cover her shock. Kasumi was the first to regain her composure. "Are they going to be okay?"

"I can only hope so. In Ranma's case the bullet got lodged in his lung, damaging it and his ribcage and filling it with blood. We've stopped the external bleeding and we're going to move him into surgery to fix the internal damage right away."

"Will the boy still be able to do the Art?" Genma asked.

"I doubt it Mr. Saotome. Unless he gets a lung translant your son will have breathing problems for the rest of his life, thus limiting his physical abilities. And even with a successful transplant, it would take him a long time to be fit enough to exert himself that way." The doctor explained.

Genma didn't look pleased. "So doctor, what you're telling me is that after training him for ten years straight, my son can no longer do anything I taught him, is that right?"

"Yes." The doctor stretched the word as he said it, not liking where this was going all of a sudden.

Genma sighed, looked down, and shook his head. "What a shame. To have spent all that time and effort on training that disrespectful punk only to have him beaten by a nobody in such a way like a weak girl. What a waste. Now how can my school be passed on?" 'And now my retirement plan has been crushed. Now what do I do?' He added in his head.

Some listening were shocked, but Soun said something before they could. "Indeed. The boy must have been more reputation than man if he was done in so easily by a coward. I can't leave my dojo to someone who can't fight without loosing his breath. Well Akane, looks like you're off the hook."

The short-haired Tendo girl didn't respond or even look at her father. But Nodoka, Kasumi, and the doctor were in shock at this blatant disregard for Ranma. "How can you say such a thing?" The doctor asked. "You're talking like he's a disappointment for being a victim."

"He is." Genma replied. "I didn't raise my son to be a victim. I raised him to be a winner. Anything less is unacceptable." He then turned to his wife. "Say, Nodoka, maybe you should enforce that pledge. If he was beaten by someone too cowardly to show his face or use proper means to win, then surely he's not manly enough to fit the bill. It might even put him out of his misery."

Nodoka was silent, and Kasumi prayed she wasn't actually considering it. "What about Tofu?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't checked on him yet." The doctor replied. Kasumi didn't look eased and Akane still looked somewhat catatonic.

Soun got up. "Let's go home Saotome. No sense in hanging around anymore."

"Agreed." The panda-man replied, then turned to his wife. "Coming, Nodoka?"

The woman refused to make eye contact but kept her voice steady. "Not now. I'd... like to see my son first." What she wanted to say was 'I'd like some time away from you now.'

"I'll stay to check on Ranma too. And I think Akane would like that as well." Kasumi told her father, who couldn't say 'no' to her. "Nabiki?" The eternally serene woman asked her mercenary sister.

Nabiki looked at Ranma's room and muttered softly to herself. "I bet this is going to cost us a lot. And he won't even be around for me to use to fund the costs this time. You owe me big time Saotome." With that, she and the two older men left the hospital back to their home, leaving behind three women and a doctor. Three of which who couldn't believe what they had just witnessed, and one who hadn't reacted at all.


	2. Chapter 2

Akane, Kasumi, and Nodoka requested to stay until they had a chance to see both Ranma and Tofu, primarily the former. Tofu was the first, since apparently his injury wasn't as hazardous and he was adept at manipulating his chi for healing purposes. But even so, he was attached to various machines his visitors couldn't recognize and was on painkillers.

"Hi everyone. Glad to see you could make it." Tofu greeted them all. He saw Kasumi, but apparently whatever he was on counteracted his normal reaction to her. He made a mental note to get some for his clinic, for his patients he would claim. "How's Ranma?"

"We don't know yet. We haven't seen him yet." Kasumi answered. "But we're told his lung was damaged and filled with blood. He needs surgery and maybe even a transplant. You were the lucky of the two."

"Why would anybody do this?" Akane asked herself, sorrow flooding her voice. It was the first thing she had said since being told Ranma had been shot.

"I dunno." Tofu answered. "Maybe somebody really wanted to hurt Ranma and I... just got caught in the crossfires."

"Why a gun? For that matter, how could they possibly get ahold of one in Japan? Who are we dealing with here?" Nodoka wondered outloud.

"Ranma's a tough guy. If the Neko-ken didn't kill him with it's high fatality rate, then he should come out of this with proper treatment." Tofu responded. He had been informed on the Neko-ken just shortly after the others and unlike Genma, made sure to read all about it. He found most trainees of it died from mental trauma or untreated infections from the stray cats. So Ranma was one of the lucky ones.

Nodoka whipped her head at the doctor. "Did you say the Neko-ken?" She knew about the technique, in fact that's how Genma learned of it, but never heard or imagined it had been used on Ranma.

Kasumi and Akane were worried about her reaction to this revelation. Their own opinions on Genma had lessened when they heard what he did to his son once he was the minimal age to learn the technique. They couldn't imagine what she would do.

"Ah you didn't know?" Tofu asked, still under the painkiller's influence. "Well, Mr. Saotome taught Ranma the Neko-ken when he was ten. Heh. And he didn't even bother to read the whole manual before he did it. I let him go as my assistant for that. Can't have someone who shows bad judgment in treating others work at a clinic."

Nodoka's face tried to look calm, but it was obvious she was masking her fury. Tofu had no idea just how bad this was going to get.

A nurse came into the room. "Excuse me, but Ranma Saotome is going to the ER shortly. You should be able to see him tomorrow. And Mr. Ono here could use his rest. We happen to have a room you three could share for the night if you insist on staying." All three nodded, not feeling right returning to the dojo just yet. They left the room after saying some final words to Tofu and were led to a spare room by a second nurse.

For once, Kasumi was the first to get to sleep. Akane and Nodoka looked haunted, like sleep was the last thing they could do. "You... you're not really going to enact that pledge, are you?" Akane whispered to Nodoka in the next bed. Nodoka didn't respond. "Are you?" Now she sounded afraid.

"So you do want him to live?" Nodoka finally said.

"What do you mean? You think I want him to _die_?" Akane sounded shocked and insulted, but kept her voice down to avoid waking her sister.

"Do you?" was Nodoka's only response.

"Of course not! Why would you think that?" Akane all but screamed. In the next bed over Kasumi turned on her side, facing away from them both.

"Do you love my son?" Nodoka asked, avoiding Akane's question. Akane paled, unable to answer that as always. "If you love him, why do you hit him with enough force to send him flying like a baseball? If you hate him, why have you never truly cancelled the engagement? There is no gray area in love, Akane. You either love him or you don't. Plain and simple."

The entire time her voice never waivered, and the only way to describe the overall tone was 'stern and maternally'. As if she was chasticing her own child. After hearing Genma's blatant disregard for her son's well-being, and Soun and Nabiki's opinions too, she remembered Akane physically showing the same disregard. She wanted some answers on how those closest to Ranma really thought of him.

"Auntie Saotome, I don't hate Ranma." was all Akane could make herself say.

"Hitting someone with a mallet isn't a lovetap." Nodoka replied. "I've seen you shatter bricks barehanded. I'm amazed Ranma's skeleton hasn't shattered when you've hit him."

"Others have done worse to him." Akane quickly defended herself.

"I'm not talking to the others. I'm talking to you. Why do you wish my son harm, but not death? Your father has just cancelled your engagement to Ranma. Why should I not do the same? Why should I continue to let you be close to Ranma?"

Akane looked down, shedding a couple of tears. "Auntie, not to be rude, but I believe that if I should tell anyone how I feel about Ranma, he should be the first to hear it."

Nodoka laid down on her bed. "Fine. But if you love him, you must stop this violent behavior towards him. If you cannot, then I will not acknowledge you as his fiancee either." Nodoka then turned over and pulled her blanket up. "One more thing Akane. As a woman, I'm aware that you'd prefer he admit his feelings first. Sometimes we don't always get what we want."

With that, Nodoka went to sleep, while Akane just laid back and stared at the ceiling before she eventually fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning Akane went to school with Kasumi tagging along for the walk. She didn't really want to go, but she couldn't stay at the hospital all day and Ranma couldn't receive visitors just yet. She had been told that they drained his lung of fluid and removed the bullet, but were still working on repairing the internal damage. Ranma might even lose a piece of his lung if it was too difficult to repair. Tofu just had the bullet removed and some basic internal stitching; he'd be fine in no time. But Kasumi intended to keep visiting both of them. Akane and Nodoka were more focused on the other victim.

"Akane, you're taking this rather hard. Why?" Kasumi politely inquired.

"I'm... afraid Ranma might... actually... die." Akane quietly spoke. When she continued, her volume rose to normal levels. "Ranma's been hurt before, but never to this degree. What if he doesn't make it? What if he goes to his grave thinking I hated him? The last thing I did was hit him for criticizing my cooking. What if he dies and I can't apologize in time?"

"I'm sure he'll pull thru." Kasumi told her sister, not sure just who she was trying to convince with that.

"Kasumi, this isn't like the other fights. He could recover after a few punches, but this was a gun. There's no guarantee he'll survive here. It's a miracle he didn't die yesterday." Akane was near hysterics. Kasumi pulled her into a comforting hug like she usually did when Akane got like this. "I guess I just convinced myself that Ranma was invincible. That nobody could ever beat him or seriously hurt him. That he would never actually get close to death so I had no hurry to do anything on my part."

"And now you've realized otherwise?" Kasumi asked.

Akane nodded. "Yes. I swear that if he lives, I'll tell him how I feel. Even if he doesn't feel the same way, I have to do it." They stayed that way for a few minutes before they continued walking towards Furinkan.

Once they got there she _really_ wished she had skipped school. Instead of being greeted by Kuno, it was Ukyo waiting for her. With bloodlust radiating off her. Once Ukyo saw Akane, she howled and pounced, wielding her giant spatula like a battle axe. Akane jumped back to dodge the hit. Ukyo's weapon hit the pavement with enough force to crack it. Kasumi got off to the side saying "Oh my."

"What the hell are you doing?" Akane shouted. Several other students watched this but assumed it was just another spar.

"What's this I hear about you shooting Ranma?" The okonomiyaki chef shouted back with hot venom in her voice.

"WHAT?" Akane screamed. "IT WASN'T ME!"

Ukyo snorted. "Guess a mallet wasn't enough was it? Had to go with something more lethal huh?" But before she got get another swing in, Kasumi stepped in to defend her sister. And even a severly pissed off Ukyo wouldn't attack Kasumi. "Out of my way!" She demanded, already knowing on some level of her mind the older Tendo girl wouldn't obey.

"Let me guess: Nabiki is selling information on Ranma's current status?" Kasumi asked. Ukyo nodded, her face still glaring, but softer now. "And did you hear this claim that Akane was the assailant directly from her?" Ukyo shook her head. "So someone else said that?" Ukyo nodded. "Did you stop to think it might have been just conjecture or mishearing on your part?" Now Ukyo looked somewhat ashamed. "I suggest you go to Nabiki directly then. And tell her if she insists on charging you, then I'll throw out her secret stash." Ukyo and Akane looked surprised at this, and then Ukyo nodded and left peacefully, but not before giving Akane a warning glare.

"Secret stash?" Akane couldn't help but ask.

"I'll tell you later." Kasumi answered. "I'll see you after school then Akane. Good luck." Kasumi then walked off with a wave.

Akane turned towards the school, wondering just what she'd hear today and how much if any she'd like.


	3. Chapter 3

_Quick comments from the writer:_

_1. I'm surprised that this fic has gotten so much attention so soon. I feel like I've struck gold here._

_2. Many are complaining that Akane hitting Ranma in the beginning was too cliche. In a way I agree, and the idea that they should have just had an argument and walked away separately would be better. But to be honest I don't find it believeable that Akane would just let Ranma walk away like that._

_3. Good things and bad things are being sad about the portrayal of Genma, Soun, and Nabiki. In this story, they will not be portrayed nicely, but I will try to tone it down to make it seem less forced. Others will suffer too._

_4. Ranma is not defenseless or helpless, just incapacitated for now. Paring he lives, he'll be weakened but capable of fighting back. Just not like how he usually does for a while._

_5. The mystery sniper is a real canon manga character. That's the only hint you'll get._

_With that said and done, let's continue with the story._

Akane's day could definitely have gone better. Most people in her classroom had similar reactions to Ukyo, just not as aggressive. Apparently Nabiki had already spread the news that Ranma had been shot by somebody yet to be identified and some theories going around were that Akane was the one to pull the trigger. She denied them all, but it didn't look like everyone believed her. Ukyo kept glaring at her, as if to say 'If it _was_ you, I hope you get the chair.'

Akane got suspicious looks from virtually everyone. She couldn't go five minutes without someone telling her, in words or writing, that she had better treat Ranma right or they'd make her regret it. Even Ms. Hinako said something similar, although not as politely as that. Ranma's two friends Hiroshi and Daisuke and even Akane's own friends Yuka and Sayuri kept giving her frequent looks to let her know that they didn't like this situation. For the most part, Akane was amazed that so many were genuinely concerned for her fiancee's(?) well-being.

So far, Kuno and the principal were the only two that couldn't be happier. The delusional samurai-wannabe just could not stop boasting about how 'the foul sorceror and enslaver of women' had been 'slain' by someone, even if it hadn't been him who did it. Most at Furinkan felt that if Akane had no involvement in this, then Kuno did. As for the principal, he eventually went on the PA and announced that school was let out early since it was "a time to celebrate" as he put it. Nobody thought it was funny or appropriate in the least and several on the PTA made a note of it. Some thought Nabiki, while not overly happy at Ranma's status, wasn't saddened by this either and that bothered them too.

Everyone got ready to leave and Akane was about to get ambushed by everyone at Furinkan, not just the hentai horde. But luckily Hiroshi, Daisuke, Yuka, Sayuri, and Ukyo got her away quickly and took her to the roof of the school for a private chat. She hoped it would stay friendly.

"Spill it Tendo. What happened and what were you doing?" Ukyo fiercely started, holding her giant spatula to send an obvious message.

"Did you talk with Nabiki yet?" Akane asked.

"I did what Kasumi said to do, and Nabiki decided that the info wasn't for sale. Apparently she's _not_ passing up a profit on this for anything. Now answer the question dammit!"

Akane hung her head. "Last time I saw Ranma, he insulted my cooking and I hit him. He apparently went to Dr. Tofu's and somebody outside shot them both. According to Tofu, who wasn't as hurt, Ranma was shot first and worse. I haven't seen him yet, but the hospital told me he's got lung problems and may never be as good a martial artist again." Nobody said anything. "I swear that's it. I swear."

"Do you have any idea who did this?" Hiroshi asked.

Akane shook her head. "No. With the way the Kuno's are acting I'd think it was them."

"Doubt it." Daisuke replied. "If it had been Kuno, he'd be taking credit for it. Remember he believes getting rid of Ranma to be a service to mankind, so he wouldn't be afraid of confessing to attempted murder in that case."

"What about that guy with glasses?" Sayuri asked. "Doesn't he use weapons? He's a likely suspect."

Ukyo put a hand on her chin and thought about it. "And he does want Ranma out of the picture so he can have the purple bitch. Yeah, it could have been him."

"And don't forget that Ryoga guy." Hiroshi added. "How many times has he shouted 'Ranma prepare to die'? He could have done this too."

They tried listing off other suspects. Panyhose Taro, the Musk, the Phoenix, the Gambling King, to name a few. They also considered it might have been someone who had been slighted by the Saotome's before they got to Nerima. While they were doing this, Nabiki had gotten to the Nekohanten with selfish intent written all over her.

Cologne was surprised to see the middle Tendo daughter enter her cafe period, let alone at this time of day. "Don't you have school child?"

"Let out early. The principal's in a very good mood. But you might not be once you hear why." Nabiki baited the amazon matriarch.

It didn't work. "I'm not paying to hear why your school was let out early. So go away unless you're going to buy something."

Shampoo entered the room. "Oh, it mercenary girl. What you doing here?"

Nabiki hid her grin, knowing this amazon was easier to ensnare. "Well, I thought you might want to know just where Ranma is right now."

It worked like a charm. Shampoo handed over half of her morning tips. "Where Airen?"

"Nerima General Hospital. In the ICU."

Shampoo gasped, and now it looked like Cologne was interested. She handed over 5,000 yen. "Tell us everything."

Nabiki pocketed it. "Okay. Yesterday afternoon Ranma was shot but not killed. That's right, _shot_. I think whoever did it isn't that talented with guns, just pointed and aimed. He's not dead, but he might never be a martial artist again. Or at least a good one. So now he'll just be a useless human parasite. Like father like son I guess." Neither of the amazons had a reaction. They just stood there. "By the way, you might want to find out where Mousse was in the afternoon. Or more precisely, at 3:45, because according to the phone records, that's when it happened." With nothing else to say, Nabiki left the building.

Walking home, Nabiki thought to herself. 'Well Saotome, maybe I can make a little more money off of you after all. For now at least. But don't you think I'm paying for your bills. You handle that on your own. I wonder how much people would pay to hear you died, if you do. The only upside to you _not_ dying is people are going to be paying me frequently to hear updates on you. But without you actually here to make a scene all the time my profits are going to take a serious hit. So you better be prepared to make it up to me once you get out, with interest.'

Meanwhile, Nodoka, who had her precious sword back, had made it back to the Tendo dojo, where she found Genma and Soun playing yet another game of go. She had no qualms about interupting them right then. "Husband, just what were you thinking last night?"

"I was thinking about the future of our school." Genma answered without ever taking his eyes of the board.

"How was that thinking about the future?" Nodoka asked.

"Well, we need an heir who can actually fight. If the boy can't anymore then what good is he for our goals?"

"Ranma is not an invalid." Nodoka claimed. "Ranma can still practice and use the arts; he just can't exert himself like he used to anymore. So he can still teach students. Weren't you listening to anything the doctor said last night?"

"But now he's no different than a normal student. It's undone all I've worked so hard to do to make him the best." The panda-man replied.

"Like the Neko-ken?" Nodoka asked. Genma gulped and sweat-dropped. "Akane and Kasumi told me all about it this morning. Am I to understand you used that teaching method on our son without fully reading the manual beforehand? And am I to understand that you did it when Ranma was 10, when the optimal age for that damn technique is 13-15 and only one person in history besides Ranma survived learning it at 10?"

Genma was scared and looking for his usual escape: a glass of water to become a panda. For once there was none around, much to his displeasure. Soun decided that now was a good time to butt in. "Even if the boy can regain his former talents eventually, until that actually happens I don't feel comfortable leaving the future of the dojo in his hands. So irregardless, the engagement between him and Akane is off until I say so."

"And what if they disagree?" Nodoka questioned the Tendo patriarch.

"Pardon?"

Nodoka turned towards the widower. "What if Akane doesn't want that? Will you keep it, or does it only have merit when it's beneficial to you?"

"Nodoka, this is a deal that's between us and is not your place to butt into. Leave it to us." Genma told his wife.

Nodoka turned back towards her husband. "I left our son to you for a decade and I already have several reasons to regret it. I'm not doing something like that again. And as for enforcing that pledge like you suggested, forget it. I'm thru judging my son like that and there's no shame in his tradegy. No martial artist can fight off a shooter, especially a hidden one."

"But once word gets out, the school will be shamed." Genma added.

"Why? Because Ranma Saotome is only human?"

"Well, if the boy could fight amazons and monsters and the best fighters in the world, but be taken down so easily by someone who hides and attackes like a coward, then no one will take us seriously." Soun suggested.

Nodoka saw she wasn't getting her point across and sighed. "I'm going out for a walk and I'd like not to be bothered." Not waiting for a response, she simply left, hoping that those two would think differently when she returned.

Said two just went back to their game without a care in the world.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day Ranma came out of surgery feeling well. He still had to be in the hospital for a while and hooked up to machines to help him breathe. Nodoka planned on staying with him the entire time, even putting a sleeping bag on the floor in his room. One of the first things she did was soothe him of the seppuku pledge by destroying the written agreement right in front of him. She assured him she was not ashamed of his tradegy, even if his father was. After that she told him how Genma and Soun had reacted, and while Ranma tried to shrug it off, she sensed he was insulted by it.

A doctor came in at 1:30 to tell them the results so far of the surgery. They had to remove a portion of the left lung as it was too damaged to work anymore and they had no donors for a full transplant. So for a while, Ranma would have some problems breathing like a normal person, needing deeper breaths more often. But apparently, the whole 'he might never be a martial artist again' notion was just preemptive fear. Ranma would be able to get used to this new handicap and be back to normal in no time. The only problem they saw was that unless he got a replacement, he would run out of stamina sooner than normal, but otherwise be just as good as he used to. Ranma and Nodoka were very glad to hear this, even when the doctor insisted that Ranma take a break from all fights until further notice.

Akane visited before anyone else could, and hugged Ranma the moment she saw he was conscious. This surprised the pigtailed young man, much like when she did the same thing after his dispute with the Musk to unlock his curse. Nodoka saw this and smiled. "I think I'll leave you two alone for a moment." She gave them both an approving glance and left the room, and decided to see if any other visitors might come.

Akane pried herself away to get a better look at him. "Ranma, are you okay?"

Ranma patted his chest. "Yeah. Try not to squeeze so hard next time. They had to take about half of the left lung out. Too damaged they said."

"I can't believe somebody did this to you." Akane said. "Do you have any idea who it could have been?"

"Well, I can think of several people who'd like me dead, but none who'd use a gun. Where'd they even get one? Aren't they illegal here?"

Akane wiped a tear away, suddenly aware she had been crying. "Who it was, was the most dishonorable, cowardly son of a bitch I've ever seen. If I ever find them, I might just shoot them myself."

This got Ranma's attention almost as well as the hug had. "Why? You're not the one they shot."

"They shot my fiancee. No one gets away with that." Akane said with steel in her voice. Ranma's eyes widened. "What's wrong?"

"Akane, you've... you've never actually referred to me that way before."

"Yeah I have. Back at Ryugenzawa, when you were about to be eaten by the orochi. Don't you remember?"

Ranma shook his head. "If I was inside that thing's mouth, then I couldn't have heard you." Akane replied with an 'oh.' "Akane, does that mean that... well... you actually... want the engagement? At least a little bit?"

What Nodoka told her the other night, and the realization that Ranma could have died, all made Akane decide that hiding her feelings weren't a good idea anymore. Plus if her father didn't acknowledge the arranged engagement anymore, there'd be no rush for a wedding. And the hope that she had heard right at Jusendo gave her more courage.

Akane took his hands in her own before she answered. "Ranma, remember the wedding? I wasn't going thru with it just for the Nannichuan water. I wanted it because... because... I love you."

Ranma froze up in surprise, and Akane patiently waited for him to recompose himself. "Akane, do you... really mean that?"

The short-haired girl nodded. "Yes Ranma, I do. Despite everything I've said and done over the past two years, I do love you. Please believe me."

"Then why did you act like that?" Ranma asked, confused by this sudden behavior. To him, it seemed so out of character.

"Well, at first I didn't love you, just tolerated you. But no matter what, you never struck back or abandoned me to suffer, even if it was in your own interest to do so. Sure, you kept angering me, but I started seeing your good side, and I couldn't help falling in love with it. I just didn't realize it until I heard you say you loved me at Jusendo."

When she finished, Ranma surprised her by pulling her into a gentle hug. Remembering his condition, she lightly hugged him back. She noticed he winced a bit when her right arm brushed against the side of his chest.

"Akane, thank you."

She decided not to try and make him admit his own feelings. Better that he did it on his own now, especially that he should have no fear now. Besides, this embrace said quite a bit by itself for her.

"Akane, I still don't know how you heard that at Jusendo, but..." Ranma paused, suddenly needing a drink. So he quickly gulped down a glass of water. "But you heard right. I love you." Akane gave him the cutest smile he had ever seen, with a blush added in too. "Can I... kiss you, Akane?"

She happily nodded, and he leaned in and both got their first _desired_ kisses. It was brief and innocent, but electrifying for both of them. "Ranma, just what is it... about me... you love?" Akane nervously asked when they finished.

"Well, when yer not angry, you are a nice person. You've helped me out several times when I really needed it, and even with all the hits, I could tell you weren't really tryin' to cripple me. You may not be as good as me, but ya could have seriously hurt me if ya wanted to. Like with your cooking." Ranma immediately regretted saying that. "Sorry about that. I didn't..."

"I'll let it go for now, Ranma. After all, I want you out of here as soon as possible." Akane calmed him.

"That might not be such a good idea, considering the gunman is still loose." A new voice spoke up from behind them, making them both jump a little. They turned to see Cologne sitting on the windowsill, wondering just how she got there considering Ranma was on a high floor to avoid any more shots.

"Whadja want, old ghoul?" Ranma asked, earning him a hit on the head like always.

"I heard you were taken down by a shooter. Apparently it's true." Cologne sighed. "With this and your new disability, you're no longer worth taking back to the tribe. Consider your bond with Shampoo broken. We'll be heading back to China sortly." Without giving them a chance to reply, she simply hopped away, using nearby tree branches to avoid a direct drop to the ground.

"She's just... giving up?" Akane asked herself.

"Another person who just throws me away." Ranma mumbled, but Akane still heard him. Not knowing what to say to make him feel better, she settled for hugging him, which he returned. No words were needed; the message was clear.

Meanwhile, the sniper had heard about Ranma being in the hospital. "Damn. Guess I shouldn't have used that other bullet on the doctor." They had only gotten two, feeling the second would only be needed in case they missed or someone tried to stop them. "I could get more, but surely they're all on the lookout for that. I'll need a new approach." They told themself in private, wondering what to do now.


	5. Chapter 5

Ukyo was Ranma's next visitor, arriving a little after Cologne. When she got there, Ranma and Akane had their arms wrapped around each other and noticed nothing else. It stung her to see it, but not as badly as she would have assumed. After all, while desperate to win the game of acquiring Ranma, Ukyo was the only one smart enough to prepare for the possibility that she might not succeed. And it looked like it had been a good idea to. She coughed to gain their attention, and almost laughed at them trying to separate and act innocent. "Glad to see you're well Ranchan." She came over and handed him an okonomiyaki. "Here. Figured you wouldn't want any of that crap hospitals call food."

"Thanks, Ucchan." Ranma accepted the treat and started eating. He felt awkward, not knowing how to tell her about him and Akane just yet, but also felt that not saying anything would be bad too. Hopefully Ukyo wouldn't want to hurt him for this, and even if she did, at least he was already in a hospital. "Um... Ucchan, there's something I..."

The chef held up her hand to silence him. "Let me guess. You and Akane here have decided to give each other a chance. Am I right?" Their silence was enough of an answer, making her sigh. "I guess I always knew deep down this would eventually happen. Can't say it doesn't hurt, but I'll live. And I still consider you my closest friend Ranma."

Ranma smiled. He had been mildly afraid that she would desert him like the amazons, his father, and two of the Tendo's had. "Thank you Ucchan. That means a lot."

Ukyo turned to Akane, but surprisingly didn't glare. "You better be good to him, you hear."

Akane nodded. "Don't worry. I've no interest in sending Ranma to his grave. And after I pound the ass who did this to him, you can have a turn too."

Ukyo giggled. "Not if I beat you to it, Sugar."

The three went on chatting like old friends, and for a time nothing else mattered. Elsewhere, a more serious discussion was starting to take place, in the Nekohanten. Cologne had given Mousse an errand, and at the same time had anonymously told the Neriman police that he was a suspect in a shooting. She figured he would be taken into custody before he could get back. So that just left her and her great-granddaughter to discuss something.

"How Airen?" Shampoo asked. Her great-grandmother didn't want her to go to the hospital and see Ranma incapacitated.

"Son-in-law was indeed taken done by a gun. I saw him and asked the doctors too. His lung was reduced to half it's size and his ribs were broken too. It will affect his stamina and skills for a long time." Cologne said then sighed hesitantly. "Child, in your best interest, I'll have to call off the Kiss of Marriage."

"What? Why?"

Cologne motioned for them both to get comfortable. "Shampoo, Son-in-law has just confessed to loving the Tendo girl. I saw them both admit their interest. The chance of acquiring him voluntarily is now nonexistent. And while we could now easily force him to go with us to China with his injury, he would be able to fight back effectively eventually. And once word got out in the tribe that he got shot, the most likely rumor will be that _you_ were the one to pull the trigger. No amount of denials will undo the damage to your honor then."

Shampoo didn't know what to say. But her great-grandmother was right. Of all the ways to fight, using guns was taboo to the Joketsuzoku. They only encouraged melee weaponry, with bows and crossbows being the closest to artillery weapons that were allowed. If anyone used a gun of any kind, it was considered cheating and shameful, with public humiliation or banishment being an administered punishment.

"Unfortunately, because of somebody else's actions, your own are limited. If you wish to stay with Son-in-law, you can't bring him back to China. Or you go home without him, and we tell the council that bringing him would have killed him. You'll at least save some honor that way. I'll let you choose, child."

"There really no other choice, Great-grandmother?" Shampoo asked.

Cologne sadly shook her head. "Sorry Shampoo. You must choose between your home or him. The closest you can have to having both is seeing if maybe Son-in-law will give you a sperm sample. That'll prevent any loss of honor since you still brought his blood into the tribe, but that's it. I don't see any other course of action. I'll let you choose." With nothing else to say, she went to get ready for the next wave of customers.

Shampoo got ready to work, but her mind never left her current train of thought.

Later that night, back at the Tendo dojo, Nabiki was going over some papers, looking over what she had been writing. To be honest, she didn't really care about what had happened to Ranma. Sure, she hoped he recovered, but most of her felt he probably had done something to deserve it and he needed this to take him down a peg or two. And most of why she hoped he recovered was so that she could keep making money off him. A dead Ranma earned her nothing.

Right now, like any others in town, she was trying to figure out exactly who had been the one to use the gun. Nabiki was concerned that whoever had done it might target Akane too later, since those that targeted Ranma tended to get her involved too. Also, she figured a couple of people would pay dearly to get that info if she acquired it. Right now all she had acquired were some suspects. This is what she had written down so far:

**1. Tatewaki Kuno**

**Motive: Believes Ranma to be a sorcerer out to control women and sabotage his life.**

**Why He Might Have Done It: The suspect is delusional and believes Ranma can only beat him with unfair means. Has several times in the past seeked out new means to fight and defeat Ranma. Delusions lead suspect to believing that removing Ranma from the picture will give him two** **women's love and anything else he believes he should have. Also with great wealth, reckless spending habit, and unclear family connections and means of acquiring wealth, is not immediately impossible for him to get gun. **

**Why He Might Not Have Done It: The suspect favors swords and kendo as a means of fighting. The suspect also desires Ranma's humiliation as well as defeat and is most likely to try and defeat Ranma in a public setting so it will be acknowledged. So it is reasonable to believe suspect, if guilty, would be boasting about it to gain assumed praise for deed.**

**2. Ryoga Hibiki**

******Motive: Blames Ranma for all the problems in his life**

******Why He Might Have Done It: The suspect has many times in the past openly declared a death wish on Ranma before an attack or ambush. Also learned a destructive technique specifically for the purpose of using it on Ranma's body. Is frequently lost without company and can get virtually anywhere this way, so it's not impossible for the suspect to find a place that sells illegal weapons to minors. Proven clinically depressed with little treatment sought for it.**

******Why He Might Not Have Done It: The suspect is occasionally on semi-friendly terms with Ranma, making death threats seem empty at times. Also desires humiliation for Ranma, so is likely to try and defeat Ranma in public way. And unofficial girlfriend seen bettering suspects mood and look on life.**

**3. Mousse of the Amazons**

**Motive: Believes defeating Ranma will win him Shampoo of the Amazons**

**********Why He Might Have Done It: The suspect is a known weapons user and has used projectile weapons before. Has once used unfair means in combat to humiliate and thrash Ranma before. Jusenkyo curse would allow him to flee scene of crime effortlessly. Foreign connections might allow access to weapons illegal to acquire here in Japan. Bad eyesight could explain lack of fatality in wounds in victims.**

**********Why He Might Not Have Done It: The suspect has been shown to favor melee weapons over artillery types. Bad eyesight also makes two successful hits hard to believe without luck, since suspect is known to not always wear glasses. Also he is likely to try and defeat Ranma in a way that Shampoo will see and know for sure he did it.**

**4. Shampoo of the Amazons**

**Motive: Desires Ranma as husband**

**Why She Might Have Done It: The suspect has used unethical and potentially illegal means of trying to make Ranma favor her, by trickery or manipulation. Motto is 'obstacles is for killing,' her words. Cannot make Ranma go to China, so she might weaken him to transport him there without a fight. Like Mousse, might have foreign connections that could make gun ownership accessible.**

**Why She Might Not Have Done It: The suspect does not wish Ranma dead, nor seems to gain too much in critical wounding. Suspect has no use for Ranma dead so wouldn't normally risk a method with a high fatality rate, unless they knew how to minimize risk. **

Nabiki stopped and put her pencil to her chin to think over some other people. "Hmm... Kodachi might be the same as Shampoo, but she's more likely to hire someone to do it for her. And it's less likely Ranma would have survived. There's no way Ukyo's involved, not with that attitude of hers. Pantyhose Taro would simply alter his curse to pummel Ranma instead. Happosai would just make Ranma wish he was dead, not this. Maybe some random artist Ranma's already beaten wanting revenge. But I doubt any would try this. Maybe I'm overlooking someone."

She stood up and stretched, then went to her 'secret stash' and pulled out some munchies. One of Nabiki's few weaknesses was a secret sweet tooth. "This is going to be harder to figure out than I thought. Oh well, I love a good mystery."


	6. Chapter 6

Several others from Ranma's class visited him before visiting hours were over. Ranma was sincerely surprised to see that they all wished him well. Hiroshi and Daisuke would spend most of the time they were with him talking about perverted stuff he might do or think about his many fiancees, and if not that then pop culture things Ranma didn't pay much attention to anyway. And with the horror stories Akane spouted all the time, he figured Yuka and Sayuri would have the same opinion as the short-haired girl often had herself.

Apparently he was wrong. His classmates told him that he made school interesting again. When the hentai horde disbanded, they found new girls to actually romance instead of fight, and many new couples had formed. He saved them from the principal's insane haircut rules and uncalled for tardiness tactics. He kept Ms. Hinako from attacking them all, and thanks to him, they could at least get a laugh out of Kuno once in a while. Sure, the rest of the school just thought he did nothing but invite problems, but his class thought better of him.

The next day, Ranma wasn't so relaxed. During the night one of the nurses found a get-well card addressed to him lying on the floor on the first floor that looked like someone had accidentally dropped it. They never read it, for if they had they would have given it to the police instead of Ranma. It had read:

**You were lucky Saotome. Don't expect it next time.**

The next day two police officers came to interview Ranma and Tofu about the shooting. Where they were, what they had been doing before, who they could think of as a likely culprit. Ranma told them he was at the clinic talking with the doc and that he had several rivals who've openly wished him dead at their hands. The cops were surprised by all this and wrote everything down.

Afterwards they went to the Tendo residence and asked the same questions. Akane listed off the same people Ranma did, then Nabiki gave them a copy of her written list. Kasumi and Nodoka pretty much simply agreed with what Ranma and Tofu had already said. Genma and Soun were the most surprising to talk to, since they simply said they didn't know and they were ashamed of the young man for being beaten. This earned them two nasty glares from Akane and Nodoka, and a stern look from Kasumi. Nabiki simply went on with her own business, not ashamed but not truly sympathetic.

The police left, and Nodoka was itching to draw her katana. But before she could say or do anything, Akane beat her to it. "Just what is the matter with you two?"

Soun looked up from his newspaper at his youngest. "What do you mean, Akane?"

"How can you act like this? Ranma is in the hospital because of some lunatic and you both are acting like it's nothing!" Akane shouted then turned to Nabiki. "You too, Nabiki."

The mercenary girl just shrugged and didn't bat an eye from her magazine. "He probably had it coming sis. Besides, shouldn't you be glad? You always said you never wanted to marry him. Now you're off the hook, even if he survives."

"Maybe I don't have to marry him now, but I still care about him." Akane replied.

Soun then put down his paper. "Akane, I refuse to let you marry someone who can't properly run the dojo."

Akane got really angry now. Now Kasumi stepped in. "Father, the doctors all agree Ranma will be healthy and active again in no time. He just needs to take it easy for a while."

"I don't believe them. Doctors aren't always right." Soun defended himself. He simply never could trust any physician except Tofu since several said his wife would recover from her illness and she died instead. And the only reason he trusted Tofu was because he had warned the Tendo patriarch of the chance of death or at least long term ailment for his wife.

Genma huffed. "Remember, the matter has already been decided. So you all should mind your own business and stay out of this. We'll just find a way to unite the schools without the useless boy."

Nodoka pulled out her sword and made sure her husband could see it. "Genma, I find your attitude very uncalled for." She warned him. Then there was a splash and a panda playing with a tire, trying to look innocent. "And you call Ranma useless? At the first sign of trouble that's all you can do. I don't know how my son became a man among men, but it surely wasn't because of your teachings."

Nabiki snorted. "Just remember, you're the one who married him."

The Saotome matriarch turned to the Tendo's middle child sternly. "Just so you know, I'm not too fond of your behavior as of late either young lady. Ranma gets hurt and all you can think of is how _you're_ going to be affected by it?"

"Not true." Nabiki pointed a finger up and turned to face Nodoka. "The shooter might turn his sights on us next. I want to find him or her so we'll be safe." 'And if I can make some moolah in the process, that sweetens the deal.' She added in her mind.

Nodoka didn't look convinced. "Still, do you truly believe my son deserves this fate?"

Nabiki shrugged. "Maybe not, but what's done is done. He got himself into it, he'll get himself out, like always. No way I'm padding the bill though."

Nodoka hung her head and sighed, then looked at Genma, Soun, and Nabiki. "I pity you when Ranma gets released." She then put away her sword and headed to the door. "If any of you need me, you know where to find me."

"Mind if I go with you, Auntie Saotome?" Kasumi asked.

"Not at all." She replied with a grin, figuring Kasumi wanted to spend more time with Tofu. He wasn't on a lot of painkillers now, but luckily his condition and behavior around her was stabilizing. With luck, in no time he'd be a sane person in her presence.

"Wait. Weren't you going to make lunch Kasumi?" Soun asked, fearful Akane would try in her absence.

Kasumi gave him an impartial sideways glance. "Father, you're a grown man. I'm sure you can at least make a sandwich on your own." With that, she and Nodoka left for the hospital. Akane went up to her room for a bit, seeing if she should dress nice for seeing Ranma later.

Meanwhile, the pigtailed young man had another visitor. This time, it was Shampoo, who looked meek and kept her hands clasped together in front of her. Cologne didn't know she was here, since the older amazon had to talk with the police about Mousse who was in custody along with Kuno on suspicions in the shooting. They were trying to find Ryoga, but that was guaranteed to take a while.

"Airen, Shampoo sorry this happen. I swear I no do it. Swear on honor." The purple-haired amazon started.

"The old ghoul called things off. I'm not your Airen anymore Shampoo." He bluntly told her, but looked away to make it less harsh.

Shampoo nodded and cried. "I know. Shampoo still care for you though. Want you heal and walk soon." She then took a deep breath, readying herself for something difficult. "Ai... Ranma, Shampoo no can have you and home. Must choose. Shampoo care for you, but not enough to abandon home. So Shampoo someday go back to China."

"Well, hope you find happiness." Ranma told her. He didn't love her, but he couldn't bring himself to hate her. "Maybe we can write and visit each other once in a while."

Shampoo smiled lightly at that. "Ranma, Shampoo face trouble back home. Great-grandmother reduce, but if return without husband, Shampoo still loose honor. There way avoid that, but... Shampoo need you okay on it."

Ranma arched an eyebrow. "Whadja mean?"

Shampoo fiddled with her hands. "If you give seed sample, then Shampoo not trouble. Is okay?"

"Seed sample? What's that?" Ranma didn't get it.

Shampoo patted her stomach. "Ranma give Shampoo child."

Ranma face-faulted in his bed. "You mean... you want me to have sex with you to avoid you being punished?" He had to say 'no' unless he wanted Akane to crush his head and spine and groin then kill him, not necessarily in that order.

"Well, Shampoo not against that way, but meant... umm... how you say... artificial way?" She struggled to remember how to say it in Japanese. Ranma still didn't understand, so the Chinese girl brought in a nurse who could make it clear to him.

"Well, Shampoo..." Ranma trailed off. On one hand, his martial artist duty insisted that if he could help someone he should, but he didn't want to risk hurting Akane. "Let me see what Akane hasta say. I'm not risking a misunderstanding on somethin' like _this_."

Shampoo accepted. "Thank you, Ranma. Shampoo probably need go back work. Bye bye." She gave him a small kiss on the forehead, then waved and left. On the way out she ran into Nodoka and Kasumi and waved to them both, who did the same and continued on into the building.

_Sorry if things seem to be slowing down. I wanted to resolve things with the fiancees before I moved into them finding the sniper. I'd like to thank Cat on a Shtick for the idea about Shampoo wanting a sperm sample of Ranma's to save face back with the Joketsuzoku. It felt like a good idea to use here. The amazons wouldn't simply walk away with nothing to gain. _

_As for the identity of the sniper, I'll be nice and give you one more clue to keep you interested: Some readers have already guessed right._


	7. Chapter 7

Akane showed up in Ranma's room wearing a yellow sundress and red shoes, trying to look nice even if she wasn't entirely sure why. It's not like she had to impress Ranma now. Nodoka was there sitting by Ranma's bed, looking frustrated at something. Akane had a good guess why. Kasumi was in Tofu's room, helping him learn to behave while weaning off painkillers. The staff didn't want to give him more, lest he develop an addiction.

Akane sat down next to Ranma and held his hand gently. "Anything new Ranma?"

"Yeah, actually. One of the nurses accidentally spilled a cup of water on me, and it hurt like hell when I changed. I think they were warned about the curse because they ignored it."

"Why'd it hurt this time?" Nodoka quickly asked before her son could continue.

"Well, according ta the nurse, my girl side's size an' shape pulled hard on the stitches on my chest." Ranma explained, then indicated the place covered by surgical wrapping where they had operated on him. "They turned me back inta a guy and it hurt a lot again, but they said I need to be a guy to heal properly."

Akane winced in sympathetic pain. "Ouch."

Nodoka looked ready to dry. "I'm sorry you had to go thru all this son."

"It's okay. It's not your fault Mom." He told her.

"Still, you got horribly hurt, and some people act like all that matters is their own skin." The Saotome matriarch added.

"Like a certain panda?" Akane asked. Nodoka slowly nodded. "So what do you plan to do about him?"

Nodoka looked skyward, then back towards Akane. "Well, I'm starting to wonder if this is all because of some trouble Genma caused while he was traveling with Ranma. I'm tempted to go thru his old journals he kept during that time to see if anything could shed light on this situation."

"Good idea. Wonder what else the panda is hiding." The Tendo girl commented.

"Isn't that an invasion of privacy?" Ranma asked.

"Right now, that doesn't matter." Nodoka claimed. "If he's hiding something that could explain this, I want to know."

Ranma now looked bothered. "Umm... Akane, another thing happened that I think you'd want to know." He then told her Shampoo's request, and what he had said about it. He thought that the fact that the short-haired tomboy at least didn't erupt violently was a good sign.

Akane didn't know what to think. She was surprised that Shampoo didn't just have her way with the young man and then simply leave. She wondered if the purple-haired amazon was plotting something. "I'm going to talk with Shampoo about this." Her voice made it sound like she was about to declare a challenge.

An hour later, Nabiki was at the Tofu Clinic, the scene of the crime. The police had already put up yellow tape at the entrance to keep people out and it looked like they already looked over the place. With nobody there at the moment, she decided to do her own little investigation. Since she couldn't enter the premises, she went around the wall that surrounded the estate.

She went to the alley that cut behind the building and separated it from another one. The building next to the clinic had ladder rungs built right into the wall, allowing someone to climb onto the roof. "Hmm... the sniper could have used that." To test her theory, Nabiki climbed up and got onto the roof. From the edge she saw the broken window and the chair Ranma had been sitting in. Crouching down on her stomach, she pulled out a laser pointer and pointed into the building. The red dot showed someone definitely could have made the shot from there. Remembering that Tofu had been shot too by the phone on his desk, she tried aiming for there. But her position did not make that shot possible thru the window. She moved to another point, and saw that Tofu's shot would have been impossible from the roof.

"Hmm... either a second shooter was on the ground, or the shooter had been on the ground the whole time. When she got ready to go back down, she saw two things right next to the roof ledge that were guarded from any wind, and her mouth dropped slightly before twisting into a predatory grin. She saw an open canteen and a few white bird feathers.

Meanwhile, at the Kuno mansion, Kodachi heard someone impatiently knocking at the main door. She called for someone to answer it for her, but apparently she was the only one there. Mumbling about having to do this herself, she answered the door and saw an old cop with wire-frame glasses. "Can I help you officer?"

"Are you Ms. Kuno?" He plainly asked.

"Yes. I'm surprised that Nerima's finest would know of someone like me." She sounded a little flattered.

"I need you to come with me. We have questions to ask you about some recent business your clan has been in."

"We have committed no crimes, so why should you be concerned?" Kodachi asked.

The cop held up a business order. It had the Kuno family seal on it and apparently it had been an order, already payed for and received, for a handgun. And it was addressed to some place Kodachi didn't recognize.

"It appears that someone here paid for and acquired an illegal weapon. We're taken you into custody until further notice." The cop stated, indicating no agrument was allowed.

"This is absurd! Our weapons are perfectly within our rights. You must be mistaken." Kodachi got defensive.

The cop pointed to the paper. "Is this not the Kuno seal?" Kodachi looked ready to fight. Before she could, the officer quickly got out a tazer and shocked her, the brief pause giving him the chance to handcuff her. He read her the Japanese Miranda Rights and took her into the car. Now that they had the two youngest Kuno's, all they needed was the oldest.

Later that night, Ryoga was walking thru some dark forest, lost yet again. 'Dammit. I could have sworn this was the way to the Unryu ranch. Where am I now, wherever here is? I was just in Nerima a day or two ago. I couldn't have gone too far.' He saw some bright lights go by, walked towards it, and found himself on the edge of a road. 'Okay, just follow the road and I'll get to... some town.' He walked down it against traffic for fifteen minutes before one of the cars passing by slowed down and pulled up behind him.

Ryoga turned and saw it was a cop car. Two officers came out. "Excuse me, is your name Ryoga Hibiki?"

"Yeah, why?"

One of the cops hit him with a tranquilizer dart, having already been informed of what was likely to happen if they confronted him. It seemed to be quick-acting, for Ryoga fell to his knees once he took the dart out and his vision was getting blurry. "You're wanted for suspicion in the attempted murder of Ranma Saotome." He continued on, but Ryoga's hearing started fading too. It was no effort for them to load him into the back of their car.

At the same time, Nodoka was up in the room she and Genma slept in at the Tendo dojo. Her husband had been easily convinced to go to a bar with his friend and everybody else there were minding their own business. Nodoka went thru Genma's things and found several of the journal's Genma wrote Ranma's progress in during their training trip.

Nodoka glanced thru them all and had to force herself to keep going before she created panda steaks. She could not believe the things Genma had done. The Neko-ken was just the tip of the iceberg. Selling Ranma for food the poor boy rarely got to eat himself before stealing him back to do it again somewhere else. Abandoning Ukyo for a cart then selling it to someone else. Fighting his son for food instead of being a decent parent and making sure his child was fed first. And more things Nodoka didn't want to think about. However, nothing pointed towards offending anybody that obviously uses guns.

Nodoka was now at the last journal. She read about how Ranma had defeated Saffron and returned to Japan, being civil to Akane the whole time with minimal fights. Before she got to the part about the wedding, the sword-wielder read something that made her blood run cold.

**The boy seems invincible now that he killed a god or whatever that birdman was. He's strong, fast, and alert, almost inhumanly. I've truly trained someone to be undefeatable by anything. I wonder if he could even dodge a bullet if he had to**.

_AN: Ah, the mystery deepens. Who shot Ranma? Why did they do it? Were there more than one? What will Akane say to Shampoo? What will Nodoka do next time she sees her husband? Will the next chapter give you the answers? Not all of them, but I'm sure you'll like it anyway. _


	8. Chapter 8

Akane sat on her bed, wondering what to do. She wished she at least had P-chan here, for at least a face to talk to, since she didn't want to bring this up to anyone. She kept going over what Shampoo had asked Ranma and what he had told her. At first the idea enraged her like anything even a little connected to sexual stuff did, and she was about to mallet Ranma for even suggesting an idea. But she didn't, and she still wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because Nodoka was there and would have hurt Akane worse had she meant him harm. Maybe actually admitting her feelings for Ranma and having them returned had subdued her reflex for pounding him right away. Or maybe the whole idea simply didn't bother her that much for some reason. After all, Shampoo wasn't really trying to steal Ranma, just have his child, with their permission.

'I'm not sure I like the idea, but how do I say 'no' after hearing that?' Akane asked herself.

Earlier that afternoon

After hearing what Shampoo had wanted, Akane decided to take a trip right to the Nekohanten. There was only one customer there who had already been served so Shampoo was free at the moment. "Nihao violent girl. What bring you here?"

"What did you ask Ranma for?" Akane asked, just barely keeping her voice from being loud enough to count as a yell.

Shampoo could sense the hostility easily, since it wasn't like Akane ever hid it anyway. "Shampoo ask Air... Ranma to save Shampoo honor."

"By having his kid? How will being a single mother be honorable?"

"If Shampoo no bring Ranma blood into tribe, then Shampoo suffer for it. Choices is cat for too too long time if not life, or banishment after public shame. Bring back baby good enough for council."

'Well, I guess that being a teenage single mother is better than being stuck as a cat.' Akane thought. "And what would the 'public shame' be exactly?"

Shampoo fiddled with her hands and glanced down. "Either lashing, hit by old bad fruit, or..." Now she looked afraid to talk. "Take away... take out... womb and breast." She subtly positioned her arms protectively over her stomach.

Akane had a look of shocked surprise, all discontempt for the amazon at the moment gone. "They'd actually do _that _if you fail to make Ranma a part of your tribe?"

Shampoo nodded. "Council want bloodline of Saffron killer and Musk defeater. If Shampoo fail, they send someone new take place. Someone who not accept nothing or ask is okay. Shampoo need succeed. They make Shampoo not woman if fail."

Akane didn't know what to say. For the longest time she was convinced this girl who acted like a hussy so much just wanted to claim Ranma as a prize. If what she said was true, then it was really the Joketsuzoku elders would wanted that, and they were using Shampoo to achieve their goal. It looked like this was the one chance she had to have a family of her own.

Akane's possessive side demanded that Ranma was all hers and hers alone. And that included his children. Her gentler side that usually didn't immediately show said this girl deserved a chance, since she wasn't really taking Ranma away from her. "Would this council be satisfied with just one of Ranma's children?" She asked, thinking they wouldn't be.

"If child girl, then maybe yes, Great-grandmother say. Might want more if boy."

Akane sighed and rubbed her head like she was getting a small headache. "I'll... I'll think about it. I think Ranma wants me to decide so I won't be angry at him for this." She wasn't sure if the pigtailed man was being considerate of her or fearful instead. Maybe both, but most likely the latter.

"Thank you." Shampoo said before returning to work and Akane left the restaurant.

Present time

Akane sat up, suddenly wanting a second opinion. But whose? Nodoka was in favor of lots of grandchildren so she'd just say they should do it. Nabiki would be looking for a way to profit from it, or say it would cost them a lot in child support later. She didn't trust the word of her father or Genma's either lately. That only really left Kasumi, but wouldn't she just say Akane should just do what she felt was right? That wasn't any help.

While she was thinking it over, two drunken men stumbled home, looking in a better mood than when they left several hours ago. As soon as they made themselves known, Nodoka appeared before them with KI radiating off her. Kasumi curiously watched from the kitchen as she washed the dishes, suddenly starting to slow down in that.

"'Ello, dear. Wanna kiss?" Genma addressed her drunkenly.

"Not anymore. And never again." Nodoka answered, brandishing a journal instead of the sword at her hip. It was the most current one, the one that mentioned Genma's comment about bullet-dodging.

"What's that?" Soun asked, not seeing anything wrong. Genma however got nervous and suddenly a little more sober.

Nodoka hit her husband with the journal. "I can't believe you. How could you do all that to your own flesh and blood?" In the short time she had to look over Genma's writing, she had only skimmed it for eye-grabbing bits of info from a few out of several. What she had caught sight of sickened her to no end. She could only imagine how furious she'd have been if she had read all ten years worth word for word.

"I didn't do nothing to my body." Genma defended himself, missing the point.

"I'm talking about Ranma. You know, the boy you used as currency to feed your own belly several times. The boy you threw several times into a pit of cats! FOR THREE DAYS! The boy you were supposed to teach to be a true man, but never gave a good example to follow! And yet he somehow succeeded."

"Whaddiya mean no good example?" Genma shouted. "I'm a true man! I won you didn't I?"

"What kind of true man leaves a little girl alone on the road? After stealing her property nonetheless. Or goes to a foreign country believing he doesn't need to know a word of the native language? Or expects his son to be able to dodge a bullet so easily?" It was that last point that really pissed off Nodoka, and once she had shouted it, the sound of a dish being dropped and shattering could be heard in the kitchen.

"Whaa?" Genma asked. Kasumi just now entered the room, looking like she had just seen a ghost.

"Genma, were you the one who shot my son?" Nodoka fiercely asked. "You better tell me, because then I'll go easy on you compared to if you lie to me." She fingered her sword as if to prove she wasn't bluffing. While sometimes clumsy with the blade, when riled up it was like a part of her body, a steel talon.

Soun knew enough in his drunken haze to step away from the Saotome couple. Kasumi stepped in closer, placing herself next to Nodoka. "Mr. Saotome, answer her and be honest. You will regret it if you don't." This was probably the closest the oldest Tendo girl could get to being threatening.

Genma immediately performed the Crouch of the Wild Tiger. It didn't work. Nodoka kicked him so he'd roll onto his back. It looked like Genma had willed himself to drunkenly pass out. The two woman threw water on him to awaken him, but all they got was a still unconscious panda.

"Hmmph. And he calls Ranma honorless and weak?" Nodoka fumed.

Nabiki and Akane came down the stairs. "What happened?"

"Anyone want Panda Express?" Nodoka asked. Right now it was really hard to tell if she was joking or not. "I'm going for a while. You know where. Don't know when I'll be back." She told them all. But before she left, she went up to the room the Saotome's used and packed all her things, not just stuff she'd use in the hospital visiting her son. Nobody commented on it though.

Meanwhile, at the Nerima police department, two officers were talking to each other about the people being held captive for suspicions in the most talked about case around town. One was a senior detective with greying hair named Fujiwara. The other was a man in his late twenties with a thin beard named Gekkou. "What do we have on them? Anything incriminating?" Fujiwara asked.

"It seems we have something on all of them." Gekkou answered. "There was an order for a small handgun from China filled out by the Kuno's, although we can't comfirm which one. No word yet on if it could do the kind of damage and uses the same ammunition the surgeons removed from the two victims."

"How could such a thing get past customs?" Fujiwara asked himself.

Gekkou shrugged. "Not sure. Maybe someone there didn't do their job well or was in on it. Or maybe it was very cleverly disguised. My guess is that the order went thru somebody who was in on it all and knew how to cover it up. Whatever the reason, it somehow got here and according to the papers, someone with the Kuno seal accepted it."

"Has anyone found the weapon yet?"

Gekkou shook his head. "Not yet, but we did recently get a warrant to inspect the premises. We should find something soon. By the way, the Hibiki boy has no alibi for where he was at the time and something odd was revealed to us earlier by a Ms. Nabiki Tendo."

Fujiwara arched his eyebrows. "What's that?"

"She told us that the Chinese boy can magically turn into a duck when hit with cold water. We tested it and found it to be true. She also told us she personally looked around the prohibited area, without trespassing, and saw stray bird feathers and a canteen lying around. It looked to her like the boy was on the roof of a neighboring building to make the shots then turned into a duck and flew off unnoticed."

"How could a duck fly away holding a gun?"

"Well, the suspect in question has been referred to as a expert at hiding weapons, and can even carry around several knives when in duck form. Maybe they also could hide a gun if small enough."

Fujiwara thought it over. "Well, either we've got more than one shooter, who either cooperated or coincidentally did this, or maybe..." He didn't finish that thought.

"You think it might be a set-up?" Gekkou asked.

The older officer nodded. "A duck couldn't fly properly with a gun's added weight, and the Kuno's seem uninformed about the transactions in their name. Or maybe they're playing innocent well. But the Hibiki boy seems a likely candidate if he's got no alibi, no witnesses to confirm whereabouts, and he could easily dispose of the weapon somewhere. But in the meantime, keep them all here."

"Understood, sir." Gekkou replied.


	9. Chapter 9

At night the police decided to start interrogating the captive suspects. None of them really seemed to be able to sleep, as if they were afraid or upset they were there in the first place. With some evidence already brought to them, they started with the two most likely ones first, each in separate rooms. Officer Fujiwara was interrogating Mousse and Gekkou was handling Tatewaki Kuno at the moment.

Fujiwara had made sure that he and his suspect were in a room with a glass screen separating them, in case the Chinese boy had managed to keep all his weapons from being confiscated. They communicated thru a telecom and Fuijwara made sure to keep his pen and notebook ready. "Are you Mousse of the Joketsuzoku?" He asked to start things off casually.

The weaponmaster folded his arms into his sleeves and looked irritated. "Yes, I am. But this is foolish. I've done nothing."

"That's what they always say, son." Fujiwara commented. "Now, is it true you don't care much for one Ranma Saotome?"

"Of course not! That dishonorable bastard is trying to steal my darling Shampoo from me!"

"Well, from what others have told us, including this Shampoo, she's not being stolen. She's practically handing herself to him. She's trying to get his acceptance, not him getting hers."

"So?" Mousse sarcastically replied. "I will not allow him to have her. He doesn't deserve her."

"And you do? Why? And as for dishonorable, did you not once use some kind of amazon mask to make this young man act like a groveling coward so you could stomp all over him without a fight? Is that honorable?"

Mousse looked down for a moment. "I admit that the mask wasn't me at my best, but..." He now regained eye contact with the cop. "He is not suited for my Shampoo and never will be."

"Your Shampoo? Considering that you're from an amazon village, I don't think you'd get away with saying something like that. And again, why is it Ranma, who, according to your laws, earned her affections, does not deserve to be with her but you do? Why? Is there something you're not telling us, or is it simply because you say so?"

Mousse scoffed and looked away. "I don't have to tell you anything."

Fujiwara made a mark in his notebook as he replied. "Actually, since you're in custody, you do. And last I checked, you amazons don't have diplomatic immunity here. And yet that never stopped any of you from acting like your own laws are the only ones that have merit."

"Then why am I the only one here? Why not the shriveled hag or even Shampoo?"

"Because footage from security cameras at your restaurant show those two working at the time of the shooting, but not you." Fujiwara stoically answered.

"I was on a delivery. Check the receipt. I wasn't anywhere near Saotome that afternoon." Now Mousse sounded defensive.

Fujiwara reached into his pocket and pulled out a feather. "So explain why this was found at the scene of the crime next to a canteen with some water still in it."

"How do you know that's one of my feathers? Surely there are other white birds in Japan." Mousse defended himself.

"Well, we don't. But when we tested your curse earlier, we plucked one right off your body. Right now some gene testing should be going on with that and another feather from the crime scene. If they match, then you're a dead duck." Fujiwara then pocketed the feather he had been displaying.

"But there's one thing you're forgetting." Mousse stated. "From what I was told, Saotome was shot. How could I have been the one to do it? That's not my style."

"Not your style?" Fujiwara asked. "Attacking someone with a lethal hidden weapon _isn't_ your style? Then how do you fight?"

"It is against amazon rules to use a firearm." Mousse claimed.

"Don't your rules also say you lost your chance to claim this Shampoo as your own when you were kids?" Fujiwara asked, grateful that Cologne had taken the time to discuss thing with him concerning the myopic weaponmaster.

"We were just kids. It didn't count."

"It didn't count? Not according to one of your own village elders. Besides, who are you to decide which laws have value and which don't? Seems to me you don't think much of rules you don't wish to follow, thus I can easily believe you shot Ranma Saotome."

At the same time as that, Gekkou had been discussing things with Kuno in a normal room, no glass panel, with a notebook of his own. "So you're Tatewaki Kuno, soon to be first year in college?"

With that, the kendoist sat up straighter, as if to display himself confidently. "Yes, but my peers call me the Blue Thunder of the kendo world."

Gekkou decided not to comment on the True Blunder comment Nabiki had made when she stopped by the station. "Now, what connection do you have to Ranma Saotome?"

Kuno lost his smile but didn't frown. "It is my quest in life to remove that foul sorcerer from the face of the earth and free the beautiful Akane Tendo and the pig-tailed girl from his diabolical clutches."

"So you freely admit you wish to murder him?" Gekkou felt Kuno had just hung himself.

"Vanquishing a demon is not murder." Kuno responded.

"Didn't you just call him a sorcerer? Well, which is it then? Is he a demon or a sorcerer? Surely he can't be both." It looked like Kuno didn't have an immediate answer. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe he's just a normal human being?"

"That is impossible." Kuno answered.

"And how is that? What proof do you have?"

"He has enchanted two fair maidens to hide their love for me and act out against me instead."

Gekkou sighed. Apparently claims that this guy was delusional, borderline insane, were accurate. "Did either girls ever show romantic interest in you _before _Ranma arrived? Or is it more likely that you like them both and can't begin to imagine that they just might not like you back?"

"Blasphemy!" Kuno all but shouted.

"Aside from that, what else do you have that proves Ranma isn't a normal person?" Gekkou changed the subject.

"He has defeated me in combat several times." Kuno declared a little shamefully but mostly angrily.

"How is that proof of supernaturalness?" Gekkou wondered just how sick in the head this young man was.

"I am the Blue Thunder of the kendo world and of the Kuno family. None can beat me without using unnatural means."

Gekkou wrote something down quickly. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe, that he's simply a better fighter than you?"

"Blasphemy!" Kuno repeated. "Watch yourself, or you might soon be punished by the kami for your serpent's tongue."

Gekkou was getting tired of this. "So basically, Ranma Saotome is some kind of monster that must be gotten rid of because you can't imagine he could be anything else?"

"Ranma Saotome is a scourge that must be removed."

"And you wish to do it? By any means necessary?" Kuno nodded. "Even with a handgun?"

"Well, my preference is the sword, but a true warrior uses whatever means are at his disposal to destroy evil." Kuno could not see where this was going or how he fit into it. His usual way of thinking was telling him that nothing wrong was going to happen to him, ever. Why would it? He believed the world needed him.

Gekkou closed his notebook. "Thank you. That will be all for tonight. Someone will be by to return you to your cell shortly." Not waiting to hear more, he simply left the room. When he next saw Fujiwara later, he commented "Next time you're interrogating one of the Kuno family."


	10. Chapter 10

_Since there have been some complaints about the grammar, I went back and changed things as best I could. Hope it satisfies you all. As for the use of the word 'thru' it is a perfectly acceptable word that's used in the dictionary and is a regional preference where I live._

_Also, I had to confirm a few things with someone who knows guns much better than I do. The gun described here best fits the circumstances of the shooting in their opinion. If by chance they were wrong, please deal with it for the sake of the story._

Interviews with Kodachi and Principal Kuno had been irritating for the police. Kodachi basically said that she would freely drug and bound Ranma to whisk him away against his will to keep him for herself, but using a gun on him was not in her best interests. Also she admitted she believed that her actions would not be in any way against Ranma's will. Principal Kuno stated that what he really wants is to repeatedly embarrass Ranma at school for fun. This caused the police to soon look into Furinkan High and discuss things with the faculty. With what they heard, the police were already planning on removing him from his job. But they still had no way to know just which one of the Kuno's had tried to get a gun.

Ryoga had no alibi, although he did admit to being in Nerima on the day of the shooting. But he couldn't confirm where he had been or previously was. He also claimed that he never saw Ranma on that day or any of the NWC, but he had seen Happosai on one of his raids. The police checked his traveling pack and found no evidence of a weapon, but some theorized he simply ditched the evidence somewhere before they found him.

The police would get two visits from those close to Ranma that day. The first was from Nodoka who was directed to Fujiwara. The Saotome matriarch approached the station with a bag full of something and a deadly serious look on her face. "Hello sir, are you on the Ranma Saotome case?" She asked when she saw the older man.

"Yes, and you are his mother I presume?" He replied.

She nodded. "I wish to report another possible culprit. One Genma Saotome."

Fujiwara looked mildly surprised. "Isn't he the victim's father? Why him?"

Nodoka opened the bag and revealed many notebooks. "Genma has been keeping track of the things involving him and my son for the past ten years. One of the most recent things he wrote was that he considered seeing if Ranma could dodge a bullet."

Now Fujiwara looked more than mildly surprised. "May I see this journal?"

Nodoka handed him the whole bag. "Look thru them all if you want. I'm sure there are other incriminating things written in there, but I couldn't find everything in one night."

"I'll have a team look thru them all. In the meantime, we'll place him in custody until we decide otherwise. Do you know where he is now?"

"The Tendo dojo. If you need me I'll be with my son at the hospital most of the time now." Fujiwara thanked Nodoka then they bowed politely before departing. Within the hour a group of cops arrived at the Tendo estate and acquired Genma. It was an amusing sight to see a panda being led away in handcuffs. Soun defended his friend but no one listened to the crying man. Nabiki didn't say anything, feeling even less sympathy for the panda-man than she did for Ranma's misfortune. The onl thought she had on the event was whether or not Nodoka was planning a divorce or had already set one up.

The second visit Fujiwara had was from Akane, Shampoo and Ukyo all at the same time. The senior officer didn't like civilians trying to get themselves involved with police business so this was starting to get old to him. However, he figured it wouldn't hurt to talk with them one last time to settle things. After that, they would have to butt out and let the cops just do their job. "How can I help you girls?"

"Some things in this don't make sense to us. Is there anything you can tell us that we don't already know?" Ukyo asked for them all.

Fujiwara sighed. "If we knew who did it..."

"You would say. We know." Shampoo finished for him.

"But we feel we're missing something here. The facts don't add up." Akane said.

"We're confused too. But this is our job, not yours. So you should..." Fujiwara started to say.

All three girls looked mad. "We're not staying out of this! Ranma is important to us so we have every right to try and find his attacker." Ukyo declared.

"Why shooter shoot twice but no caught? How get gun? What type gun?" Shampoo asked.

"Well, I could tell you that much at least." Fujiwara said. "You see, an order for a gun from China was signed by a Kuno and apparently it was delivered to them. According to the form, it was a Chinese 7.65 mm type 67 silenced handgun. A small type that isn't too dangerous if not used properly. And the bullets removed from the two victims look like the type this gun uses. The velocity from the shot is low from a distance, so we think the impact from the window reduced it enough so that neither would die from the hit. Also the silencer feature would minimize attention. And according to a search party, such a weapon was found lying around carelessly within the Kuno mansion, but with no fingerprints on it."

"So it was one of the Kuno's?" Akane viciously growled, looking ready to snap someone's neck.

"Wait. If they shoot, why Mousse feathers at site?" Shampoo asked.

"Yeah. That doesn't make sense." Ukyo agreed.

Fujiwara shrugged. "Well, we're still looking into it, especially now that a new suspect was brought in today. Hopefully whoever the gunman is, they won't be able to do anything now." He then showed them the card that had been found at the hospital and given to them by Ranma shortly afterward. "Because apparently they were getting ready to try again."

All three girls looked at the card. "Where'd you get this?" They all asked.

"On Thursday it was found on the floor of the hospital and brought to the victim, who gave it to us. No fingerprints on it again, but it's worth holding onto for now. Anything else girls?"

They said no and thanked him for his time. Back home, Akane told her family what she had been told. Kasumi looked upset, Soun kept saying Genma had to be innocent, and Nabiki again tried to single out the right perpetrator in her mind. Ukyo had Konatsu look over the clinic to see if the shooter would return to the scene of the crime, however unlikely it was. Nodoka had told Ranma what she had done regarding his father and admitted she had filed for divorce that day. Time apart had weakened the couple's bond along with Genma's callous disregard on the event. Hearing Genma suggest that he might have been the sniper was the final straw. Ranma was deeply offended by hearing that too, and didn't argue the matter with his mother.

Like Ukyo, Shampoo was busy trying to figure this out. Despite her bimbo reputation, Shampoo was no idiot. She simply talked the way she did because she had to learn Japanese in a hurry. And her schemes to ensnare Ranma didn't work mostly due to outside interference, not foolishness on her part. After all, Cologne intended for her to be her heir as council elder someday, and that couldn't happen if she was mentally weak or slow.

Shampoo was up in her room alone for the moment, thinking aloud and laying on her back. "Hmm... crazy samurai get gun, Mousse leave feathers, both shoot Ranma, but why doctor? Gun weak, so Mousse not use. He want good weapon use, and hard him afford gun. Price no problem for crazy samurai family, but why get small cheap type? Crazy samurai want kill Ranma, but would he do that way? Or leave warning card?" Shampoo sighed and closed her eyes, then something clicked in her mind. Once it did, her eyes widely opened and she bolted right up gasping. "Aiyah!" She went downstairs swiftly to tell her great-grandmother what she just thought of, then both amazons immediately rushed out of the restaurant and towards the hospital.

The next day at school was going peacefully until the wall of Ms. Hinako's room burst open, revealing the amazons still believed doors were too much trouble. When the dust settled, everyone in Akane and Ukyo's class could see Shampoo and Cologne standing in the rubble, with Shampoo wielding her bonbori's ready to fight. Oddly, Nodoka was with them and it looked like Nabiki had been dragged from her homeroom to here too.

Hinako got out her coin. "What is the meaning of this?" Before she could use her most dreaded technique she was handed a candy bar. The childish teacher was immediately subdued, but still watched with interest.

"Well, where's the fire?" Nabiki irritably growled when she was let go.

Shampoo looked at Akane and Ukyo. "Violent girl, spatula girl, Shampoo know who shoot Ranma."


	11. Chapter 11

"Violent girl, spatula girl, Shampoo know who shoot Ranma."

At those words, nobody took a breath and everybody leaned in to hear better. "You what? Seriously?" Akane asked.

Cologne, balancing on her staff, pogoed forward a little. "Since I can articulate it better, I'll be the one to say what we've found. Although it was Shampoo who realized something vital we missed."

"Who was it? One of the Kuno's? Mousse? C'mon!" Ukyo asked, her hand itching to grab her battle spatula and bust some guilty party's head.

"Neither. In fact, none of the contained suspects are guilty." Cologne said, surprising them all.

"Then... it wasn't Genma?" Nodoka asked. 'Somebody must have beaten him to it then.'

"You see, the biggest clue was that warning card. It was just randomly dropped in the hospital. That meant that the shooter had to have been there to do it. We immediately checked the surveillance tapes at the hospital and saw that before the card had been dropped, this entire class had stopped by as a whole to visit Ranma in his room."

Nabiki looked stunned. While slightly jested that someone said they had figured out they had solved the mystery before her, she would ignore that for now. "So what you're saying is that whoever shot Ranma...," her eyes then gazed over the room like a hawk. "... is in this room."

"Right." Shampoo replied.

'Makes sense.' Nabiki thought. 'If they were going to leave a warning by dropping a card on the floor, doing it among a crowd would prevent them from being singled out right away. And by visiting Ranma, what better way to make them appear innocent?'

The eyes of Akane, Ukyo, Shampoo, and Nodoka searched the room for anyone who looked guilty or afraid, their own faces fierce and unforgiving, ready to maim. The rest of the class and Ms. Hinako kept staring at each other turning heads repeatedly, trying to find the same thing.

"Look. Someone left the room." Yuka stated, pointing to the now open door.

"Somebody ran. It has to be them." Ukyo snarled, getting her favorite weapon in her hands.

"Relax. They won't get far." Cologne told the okonomiyaki chef.

"What the hell do you...?" Ukyo shouted before more shouting could be heard from the hallway.

"No! Stop! Let me go dammit!"

Everyone immediately went out into the hall, where they saw several cops already lying in wait, by Cologne's planning, in case someone tried to run from the classroom. It had all been a set-up, the amazons would force their way into the room from outside the school while policemen awaited any escapees by hiding in the halls beforehand. Now, while the amazons had figured out that someone in Ranma's class was the culprit, they didn't know the students well enough to specifically name one of them as the shooter. They figured only the real sniper would try to run if the amazons were right, and apparently they were.

Imagine the looks on everyone's faces as the police officers placed handcuffs on and read the Japanese Miranda Rights to Hikaru Gosunkugi.

It didn't take much to make Gosunkugi to confess to the entire thing, especially after several girls wailed on him in the school. The failed wedding had upset the Akane-obsessive boy too much so he decided to remove Ranma completely. He had gotten close to the Kuno's by claiming he might be able to weaken Ranma for them and thus acquired their family seal without their knowing. Using it, he placed the order for the gun from China and had it delivered to a specific location. With the stamp, the Kuno's would cover the cost and take the fall if caught. Also he used their funds to bribe someone in shipping so the gun could get into the country.

Once he had the weapon, Gosunkugi got some feathers off a random duck and a canteen to leave behind to incriminate Mousse. DNA testing proved the found feathers were not Mousses. In Gosunkugi's eyes, if the police were confused with unmatching evidence, they would focus on everyone in the NWC, but not him. He also would have left behind one of Ryoga's bandannas if he could have gotten one. When he found Ranma on the day of the shooting walking around, he snuck behind the clinic, unnoticed by everyone like he always was, and hid behind the wall that surrounded the estate. He only went on the neighboring roof to plant the feathers and canteen. Back on the ground, he shot at Ranma but the closed window interfered thus reducing the damage. He shot Tofu to try and stop him from getting help in time, but made that shot less lethal since it wasn't personal. Then he fled the scene and got to the Kuno mansion and just threw the gun into an open window. It apparently landed in a room the inhabitants usually ignored so they never knew it was there. When he heard Ranma survived and was recovering, he began planning swiping some of Kodachi's poisons and getting them into his food or medicine once he figured out how not to get caught.

With this confession, the previously contained suspects were let out. Actually, it was only a part of the group. Ryoga and Mousse simply left, but all three Kuno's and Genma were being kept and about to be placed on trial for things brought to the police's attention during this investigation. Things like child mistreatment and theft on Genma's part, and potentially dangerous insanity and harassment on the Kuno's part.

That evening Nodoka, Akane, Ukyo, Konatsu, Shampoo, Cologne, Kasumi, Nabiki, and Soun went to the hospital for another visit. At their request, Tofu and Ranma were placed in the same room for this visit. Ryoga and Mousse might have come along too, if Ryoga had not gotten lost leaving the police station and Cologne forbade the myopic weapon master from getting anywhere near Ranma for the time being.

"Wow. It was Gosunkugi? Why didn't any of us think of him before?" Ranma asked after they told him and Tofu the story.

"I guess the flashier guys just stood out more to us." Ukyo suggested with a small shrug. "Plus, he usually is ignored anyway."

"Guess he actually made use of it here." Akane thought aloud, still itching to hit the shadow-eyed boy some more.

"Well, at least he'll suffer for his crime now. Consider yourself lucky you two. If he had gone for a different gun you might not have survived." Cologne said.

"But if he had, it would have been harder to get it here past customs." Tofu pointed out.

Shampoo shook her head. "Maybe no. After all, Shampoo enter country as cat in box. Persons checking must not do job well."

Nodoka stepped towards the purple-haired girl. "Young lady, thanks to you we were able to find the right man. I don't know how to thank you."

"I think I do, Auntie Saotome." Akane added.

"I went back to my maiden name today. Call me Auntie Takahashi now." Nodoka told the short-haired girl.

Akane nodded to the older woman, then looked back at Shampoo. "Shampoo, to say thank you, I'll agree with your request."

Shampoo instantly brightened and gave Akane one of her patented glomps. Now Akane wondered how in the hell she ever believed Ranma enjoyed these bear hugs before. Ranma was spared since his sides were still tender from the surgery, and said if Akane really wasn't going to be angry over it, then it was the least he could do. Cologne simply bowed her head in gratitude, happy her great-granddaughter could return home without fear. When the others asked just what request Shampoo had made, Cologne told them it was amazon business they weren't allowed to know. Better that then the truth she figured.

"Say, Mom, since Pops is innocent, you still gonna leave him?" Ranma asked.

Nodoka gave her son a sad look. "Ranma, try to understand. Your father and I have grown apart over the years, and I don't think I can trust him anymore. A marriage cannot work without trust, or you'll just be looking for a reason to call it quits." Nobody missed the brief subtle glance she gave Akane as she said that. "I just don't love your father like I used to, not after all I've heard. This is for the best."

"If that's the case, then I'm afraid I can't continue to house you and Ranma anymore." Soun stated, catching everyone's attention. "I did it before because of my friendship with Genma and the vow we made. If you're no longer wed to him and Ranma isn't fit to me to inherit the dojo, then I must ask you to leave."

It looked like Akane wanted to yell at her father. Now Soun was literally throwing Ranma away, all because he couldn't be used at the moment. And odds were likely that once Ranma got used to sparring with half a lung and be a proper heir again, Soun would act like his current attitude never happened and expect everyone else to as well. But before she could give her father a piece of her mind, Nodoka beat her to it.

"Fine. If I'm not welcome I won't impose. But I'm not going to let you change your mind later. That means you cannot encourage or forbid any engagement involving my son anymore."

Soun submitted to the demand, the topic was dropped, and the discussion took on a lighter tone afterwards. Over time everybody went back to their homes and Tofu was placed back in his own room. He and Ranma would be allowed out soon, but Tofu would take longer to regain a steady walking ability since his wound affected his lower back. Nodoka planned on staying in Ranma's room as long as he did and talk with her family the next morning to arrange living conditions for her and her son.

Akane was the last to leave. "Sorry all this had to happen Ranma."

"Me too."

"Can you imagine what Gosunkugi might have done if we actually did get married?" Akane pondered.

"Imagine what _we_might have done it we did instead?" Ranma replied.

Akane didn't know what to say about that. "Well, at least you're getting better. Let me know where you and your mother will live."

Ranma nodded. "Sure thing. Gotta admit, it'll be weird not seeing ya everyday."

"Well then, we'll just have to make the time then."

They continued some light conversation for a few more moments before Akane had to leave. A few days later both Ranma and Tofu were released and returned to their normal lives, but would need regular checkups for awhile. Tofu offered Ranma and Nodoka the chance to stay in one of the extra rooms in his clinic so Ranma could continue going to school at Furinkan, as opposed to moving to another city. They accepted.

Ranma kept up his training and learned to handle his new condition despite the occasional pain and lack of breath he would get. Several of his rivals stopped attacking him on sight, out of courtesy or incapability, so he wasn't pushed too hard. The Kuno's were locked away involuntarily in separate mental wards for an indeterminable amount of time, deemed a threat to others on several accounts. The amazons left for China after Shampoo had been given what she asked for and they confirmed the procedure had been successful, promising that Ranma could keep in touch with them and visits could be arranged for them both. Naturally Mousse wasn't happy but was threatened to be shot if he did anything about it. Ryoga spent more time with Akari and claimed fighting Ranma now wouldn't be fun or honorable, at least until he recovered. Ukyo stayed Ranma's friend and even considered giving a relationship with Konatsu a chance. Genma was found guilty on charges for several crimes and had to serve some time in prison. Also all the debts he ran up in Ranma's name were charged to him now, on grounds that Ranma had been a minor at the time of the deals. Nabiki continued on as she always had and succeeded in getting into college. Tofu managed to keep some painkillers around for when his Kasumi-itis would begin to flare up again, but since she continued to see him regularly that habit died down severely. It wouldn't be long before he asked her out.

Ranma and Akane kept up a friendly act in public, with the occasional argument, but no more violent behavior from the short-haired tomboy. It took a lot of self-control at first, but she really didn't want to risk Ranma going back to the hospital. After about two weeks of being released, they went on an actual date, and enjoyed it. It soon became a regular habit of theirs, and it led to them being more comfortable around each other. Around the time they graduated high school, Ranma proposed and Akane accepted. As predicted, once Soun thought Ranma could handle running the dojo he acted like he never had any doubts, but there would always be a rift between him, his daughter, and the young man because of his earlier behavior. Ranma and Nodoka moved back into the dojo before college started and Akane and her sisters started planning the ceremony.

As for Gosunkugi, like always everybody ignored him completely, even as he spent the next ten to twenty years locked up.

The End

_Congratulations to the following for figuring out whodunit:_

_Cat on a Shtick_

_Andy Wong Fey Hong_

_SuperLardBucket_

_Riniko22_

_Megatyrant_

_maryjane5000_

_dothackfan_

_Thank you everyone who reviewed and put this story as an alert and/or favorite. This might actually be the best thing I've ever written. Ironic since my original intent was very different. I was originally trying to make a 'Ranma gets abandoned by mostly everyone and gets vengeance' fic, but as I wrote it changed into a crime mystery. Obviously that was for the best here, although I still want to write a dark revenge fic. Eitherway, I'm proud of what I've created here. Sorry if the ending seems a little forced, but once the mystery was solved there wasn't much left to say other than a quick wrap up. Maybe I'll write a oneshot or twoshot sequel later if enough want it._


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